Syrian President Bashar al Assad has warned Western countries against intervening in his country amid ongoing civil unrest.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, he said any interference would cause an "earthquake" that would "burn the whole region".

Mr Assad has drawn repeated condemnation from the United Nations, Arab League and Western governments for the violent manner in which he has tried to crush a seven-month uprising.

Mr Assad told the newspaper that Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely", adding: "But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different."

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake," he said.

"Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans? Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region," Mr Assad added.

The UN estimates that 3,000 people, including nearly 200 children, have been killed in the unrest.

Since the start of protests in March, Syrian authorities have blamed the violence on gunmen they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.

Syria has barred most international media, making it hard to verify accounts from activists and authorities.

Mr Assad said that Syrian authorities had made "many mistakes" in the early part of the uprising, but that the situation had now improved.

Mr Assad said he had responded differently to the Arab Spring than other, deposed Arab leaders.

"We didn't go down the road of stubborn government," he told the paper.

"Six days after (the protests began), I commenced reform. People were sceptical that the reforms were an opiate for the people, but when we started announcing the reforms, the problems started decreasing... This is when the tide started to turn. This is when people started supporting the government."

There is growing evidence of an organised armed rebellion in Syria - with groups of defecting soldiers fighting back against the regime.

This is encouraging News. What makes me sick is the News that Italy and a couple of other European Countries have contracts to buildequipment in Syria which will track down militants movements on their mobile phones, The Siemens Chairman interviewed on T.V. thismorning , when questioned, admitted it had contracts in Syria but blustered these go back to 2009. Do these people sleep at night ?

margaret wrote:Sounds like Assad is worried about all the other revolutions and he has every right to be.

Morning margaret, he has been absolutely ruthless and rumour has it he is getting help from Iran. Don"t know if you have ever seen a photo of his wife, she is English and very attractive, I wonder what she thinks of his brutality. I think there is a photo of her in one of the earlier posts.

The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity during its ongoing crackdown in Homs, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

The organisation says there is evidence of "systematic abuse" of civilians by government forces, including unlawful killings and torture.

It has urged the Arab League to suspend Syria when it meets to discuss the crisis at an emergency meeting this weekend.

The group has also called for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on the Syrian regime.

Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government's brutality. The Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating the agreement has consequences, and that it now supports (United Nations) Security Council action to end the carnage."

Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch

Its report focuses on violations by the Syrian security forces between April and August, when 587 civilians were killed in the city of Homs and the surrounding governate.

Researchers conducted interviews with more than 100 victims and witnesses.

One woman described how her family joined a protest that came under fire.

"The guns were machine guns," she told researchers.

"My husband leaned over our son to protect him but the bullet entered our son's stomach."

The child, who was badly injured but survived, was three years old.

Other interviewees described detentions and torture.

Protesters want Syria's President Bashar Assad to step down

One man said: "They were beating me, and pouring water on me, and then using electric stun guns."

Assad doesn't realise the more violent he is against civilians the more they will protest. I must say that these protestors are very brave. Imagine when they take the decision to protest they know they may be killed.

I agree that Iran may be involved - also Assad is probably answerable to other forces besides Iran. Either way it's gong to end in his removal.

Assad doesn't realise the more violent he is against civilians the more they will protest. I must say that these protestors are very brave. Imagine when they take the decision to protest they know they may be killed.

I agree that Iran may be involved - also Assad is probably answerable to other forces besides Iran. Either way it's gong to end in his removal.

Angelique, Assad is ignoring the censure, even as protesters last night were cheering the decision from the Arab League his Soldiers killed a fewof them. I think Italy ought to be censured for making and selling the equipment which monitors the Rebels mobile phones. If the WesternGoverments cut off Diplomatic ties and exports to Syria, Assad might do something. I remember about 2 months ago he made a televisedannouncement that reforms would be made......hollow words.

Demonstrators gathered outside the Arab League Offices in Cairo , during the LAST TEN DAYS 210 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED .At a Funeralin Damascus suburb 8 mourners were killed . Assad says the Arab League of being coerced by the U.S.A.

Assad was educated in England, married to an English Woman who is very attractive, yet behaves like Col Gaddafi. I wonder what hos Wife thinks.?

Qatar has led efforts within the Arab League to force Syria to end its crackdown

The 22-nation body told Damascus it could impose economic and political sanctions if it did not stop the violence, which has seen an estimated 250 people killed since November 2 despite Assad pledging to implement an Arab League peace initiative.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of the body in Cairo, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim said: "We were criticised for taking a long time but this was out of our concern for Syria.

"We needed to have a majority to approve those decisions.

"We are calling all Syrian opposition parties to a meeting at the Arab League headquarters to agree a unified vision for the transitional period."

Syrian officials reacted with fury, saying the decision was illegal and that it spelled the end of any Arab role in resolving the situation.

Syria's ambassador to the League, Yussef Ahmad, described the suspension as "contrary to the treaty" which set up the pan-Arab organisation.

He said it "put an end to joint Arab action and shows the administration is subjected to US and Western agendas".

Western nations and the UN have signalled their support for the Arab league's move.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This sends a clear message to President Assad and his regime who continue to refuse to allow political transition in Syria and are responsible for an escalation of violence and repression."

US President Barack Obama applauded the League's efforts to "hold the Syrian government accountable".

"These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests," he said.

More than 3,500 people are believed to have been killed since largely peaceful demonstrations against the government began seven months ago.

Saudi Arabia has condemned an attack on its embassy in Damascus by supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Saudi and Qatari embassies were stormed by crowds after both countries voted to suspend Syria from meetings of the Arab League.

Saudi Arabia accused Syria's government of failing to take sufficient measures to stop the attack on its building.

The Arab League vote came after Syria failed to end a violent crackdown on opposition protesters.

Syrian authorities said the vote violated the league's charter, and accused it of serving a "Western and American agenda".

As the result became known on Saturday, groups of protesters gathered outside both the Saudi and Qatari embassies in the Syrian capital.

The French and Turkish consulates in the city of Latakia were also attacked, Reuters news agency reports.

The Saudi state news agency SPA said hundreds of Syrian government supporters threw rocks at its embassy. Some managed to get in, smashing windows and ransacking the building. Continue reading the main storyArab League proposals

"Syrian authorities did not carry out the necessary measures to stop" the demonstrators, the SPA quoted the Saudi foreign ministry as saying.

"The Saudi government strongly condemns this incident and holds the Syrian authorities responsible for the security and protection of all Saudi interests in Syria," the ministry said.

Pro-Syrian government supporters also forced their way into the Qatari embassy - climbing to the top of the building to remove the Qatari flag and replace it with a Syrian one.

Both the Saudi and Qatari ambassadors left Damascus in the summer in protest at President Bashar al-Assad's crack down on protests in the country since March.'Huge blow' Eighteen member states of the Arab League - which is chaired by Qatar - voted on Saturday to suspend Syria from its meetings and impose sanctions. It has also asked member states to withdraw their ambassadors.

Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voted against the move, and Iraq abstained.

The vote was taken after Syria ignored an Arab League proposal - accepted by President Assad's government - which would have involved releasing prisoners, withdrawing security forces from the streets and beginning dialogue with the opposition.

The league has also called on Damascus to halt the violence, and warned it could refer Syria to the United Nations if the bloodshed did not stop.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says the decision is the most that anyone could have realistically expected from the Arab League.

It is a huge blow to Syria's pride, and could also be a real practical blow to its leaders, our correspondent adds.

The UN says more than 3,500 people have died since the start of the protests in March. Thirteen people died on Friday, most of them in the city of Homs, which has borne the brunt of the violence, and 12 died on Saturday.

Mass street protests after Friday prayers, followed by brutal crackdowns by security forces, have become a weekly feature of Syria's uprising.

President Assad's government insists it is battling armed gangs and militants and says hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed.

The government has restricted foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground.

"If Bashar has the interests of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life," Abdullah told the BBC.

"If it was me, I would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing," he added. But, he said, "I don't think the system allows for that ... I think it's simply Bashar goes, somebody else comes in. But if it's the same regime and the same members, then we're going to be back to the same thing on the street."

The Syrian president is under increasing pressure to step aside even as his government continues an eight-month crackdown that the United Nations says has claimed more than 3,500 lives since unrest broke out in mid-March, including 13 reportedly killed on Monday.

Abdullah's pronouncement "is big" because the monarchs in the Arab world have been reluctant to call for other rulers to step down, said Joshua Muravchik, a fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and at the George W. Bush Institute. "Gadhafi was the big exception, but Gadhafi was a nut who had badly alienated everyone," he said. "Assad is not a nut. He's a cruel dictator and cruel dictators have never offended other rulers in the Arab world."

Muravchik contrasted the world's reaction to the violence meted out by troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad with the lack of reaction to the the 1982 massacre in Hama, which may have killed some 20,000 people, during the regime of Hafez al-Assad, the current leader's father. "Everyone was cool with what his father did," Muravchik said. "It's a new age, even in the Arab world, which has been the last to enter this new age. Rulers just can't do that with impunity, and Assad, by killing so many of his own peaceful protesting citizens, seems to have crossed the line, which no one is willing to accept."

The league's decision could open the door for broader international sanctions against al-Assad's regime.

"I think it is very good that the Arab League (is) taking a leading role on this crisis," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday. "It is very important in the European Union that we consider additional measures to add to the pressure on the Assad regime, to stop the unacceptable violence against the people of Syria. And we have adopted a wide range of sanctions on Syria already, but I think there is a very good case to add to those."

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the Arab League's actions and accused the West of instigating Syrian opposition, according to the Moscow-based Interfax news agency.

Syria angry over Arab League suspension

"Radical opposition activists have also been incited to seek a change of the regime and decline any invitation for dialogue," Lavrov said, according to Interfax.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, quoted by the state-run SANA news agency, said, " Syria is a state of full sovereignty and will defend every span of its land."

"The Arab League decision on suspending Syria's membership and the other provisions it has included constitute a very dangerous step on the present and future of the joint Arab action and on the goals and role of the AL," he said, according to SANA.

"The Syrian people should not be worried because Syria is not Libya," he said, according to SANA.

"The Arab economic sanctions against Syria are shameful and unprecedented action by the Arab League."

The agency also reported Monday that the government was calling for an "emergency Arab summit" to address the issue. Citing an official source, SANA said the government would invite the Arab League's Ministerial Committee to visit the country to observe conditions.

Fifteen of the organization's 22 member states would have to approve the request to meet in emergency session.

The Arab League's stated purpose is to strengthen ties among its member nations, coordinate their policies and promote common interests.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Monday the situation in Syria was of "enormous concern." The EU will work closely with the Arab League, she said. "I hope the president is finally going to listen to his people," she added.

Angry supporters of the Syrian president rallied Saturday night at embassies and consulates of countries that voted to suspend Syria's membership in the Arab League, anti-government activists said.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said Sunday that a crowd "threw stones at some honorary consulates, including ours" in Latakia. He said attacks also took place on embassies in Damascus, including Turkey's, and that a crowd tried to enter his country's consulate in Aleppo.

Unal said Turkey has evacuated families of its staff members in Syria.

According to a statement from the opposition Syrian National Council, Davutoglu said Turkey recognizes the council as a political framework, which represents the will of the Syrian people and the revolutionary youth.

Protesters in Syria are demanding al-Assad's ouster and democratic elections. Al-Assad has been in power since 2000; his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for three decades.

Security forces killed 13 people on Monday -- 10 in Homs, two in Idlib and one in Daraa, according to the opposition Local Coordinating Committees, which organizes and documents anti-government protests. The casualties reportedly included a man who was shot to death in front of his 9-year-old son, who was wounded.

CNN cannot independently confirm individual accounts of violence because Syria's government restricts the activity of journalists.

In October, Russia and China teamed up to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned the Syrian response to the demonstrators and called for an immediate end to the government clampdown on the opposition.

The league's foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco, to discuss protecting Syrian civilians, according to the senior league official, who asked not to be identified because he is directly involved in negotiations over Syria.

The Arab League also plans to meet with representatives of the Syrian opposition to "unify their agenda," the official said. A date for the meeting has not been announced.

Syrian activists claim at least 50 people have been killed in intense clashes between army defectors and government forces.

The southern province of Deraa was the scene of some of the worst violence, with reports that dozens of Syrian soldiers were killed by renegade troops near the Jordanian border.

The attacks, reportedly carried out by an army unit that has defected to the opposition, are the latest evidence of a growing armed rebellion in Syria.

Syrian activists say President Bashar al Assad has intensified his military crackdown in towns and cities across the country in response.

Demonstrators in London called last month for an end to the fighting

The increasing violence comes amid growing international pressure on the Assad regime.

Jordan's King Abdullah has become the first Arab leader to explicitly call for the Syrian president's resignation, while the White House has re-iterated its calls for Mr Assad to go.

On Wednesday, the Arab League is due to meet in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to confirm its decision to suspend Syria - a move that has infuriated the regime.

The regional body has also pledged to impose economic sanctions, adding to the measures already in force by the EU and the US.

The international community has ruled out Libyan style military intervention in Syria and the country can still count on support from Russia and China, which have refused to back any punitive action - even economic measures - against the regime.

The United Nations says at least 3,500 people have been killed since March when the mass pro-democracy protests began.

The regime has been accused of waging war against its own population to try to crush the uprising. The Syrian government claims the violence has been caused by foreign-sponsored armed groups.

Istanbul (CNN) -- Turkey threatened to cut off supplies of electricity to its neighbor Syria Tuesday, as the Damascus regime found itself under growing pressure from Arab, Turkish, European and North American governments for its ongoing lethal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

"We are supplying them (Syria) with electricity at the moment. If they stay on this course, we may be forced to re-examine all of these decisions," Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday, according to Turkey's semi-official Anatolian Agency.

Turkey, once a close political ally and strong trading partner of Syria, welcomed a decision by the Arab League last weekend to suspend Syria's membership in the alliance.

Days after the humiliating rebuke, a senior Arab League official told CNN the group was floating a plan to try to send some 500 observers to protect civilians in Syria. According to the United Nations, more than 3,500 Syrians have been killed since anti-government protests first erupted in March.

"They are targeting innocent people"

Syria angry over Arab League suspension

Arab League imposes suspension on Syria

Fresh abuses reported in Syria

"In a meeting headed by Dr. Nabil Al Araby, the secretary-general of the Arab League, held Monday, the Arab League and Arab human rights organizations decided on a mechanism to protect Syrian civilians which will involve sending a delegation of 500 representatives of Arab organizations, media organizations, and military observers to Syria with the objective of documenting the situation on the ground," the official said to CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said the plan was to be presented at an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Morocco's capital Wednesday.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Juda confirmed to CNN that his government had received an invitation to contribute representatives to the proposed observer mission.

"We are studying it right now," Juda said in a phone call with CNN Tuesday. "It might be verified tomorrow," he added, at the expected Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in Rabat.

On Monday, Jordan's King Abdullah became the first Arab leader to publicly call for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down.

"If Bashar has the interests of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life," Abdullah said in an interview with the BBC.

Monday evening, a crowd of hundreds of Syrian regime supporters gathered for a protest outside the walls of the Jordanian embassy in Damascus.

Though several demonstrators tried to tear down the Jordanian flag, Juda said the protest was non-violent.

The scene was much different on Saturday. Hours after the Arab League suspended Syria's membership, pro-government mobs simultaneously attacked diplomatic missions of several Arab countries as well as Turkey in the Syrian cities in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakiya. Turkish media showed pictures of Syrian demonstrators tearing down a Turkish flag.

"You, Bashar, who has hundreds (of people) in jail, need to find those who attacked the Turkish flag and punish them," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing al-Assad. Until a few months ago, Erdogan typically referred to the Syrian president as his friend and brother. But in the wake of Saturday's embassy attacks, Turkey said it had no choice but to evacuate family members of its diplomats stationed in Syria.

"Bashar Assad should see the tragic end that meets leaders who declare war on their people," Erdogan added, speaking at a meeting of his party in the Turkish capital Tuesday. "Oppression does not create order and a future cannot be built on the blood of the innocent. History will remember such leaders as those who fed on blood. And you, Assad, are headed towards opening such a page."

Syria's foreign minister issued a rare public apology for the embassy attacks Monday at a press conference in Damascus.

But Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem also called the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria a "very dangerous step," according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. He accused the league of ignoring Syria's release of 553 detainees, as part of a peace deal that had been brokered earlier with the Arab League.

Hitting a familiar defiant note, al-Moallem swore that "Syria will remain -- despite what some of the brothers throw at it -- the heart of Arabism and its impenetrable bastion."

Since being suspended from the Arab League, Damascus has called for a special summit to discuss the matter. That initiative was rejected on Tuesday by Gulf Arab countries.

"Holding an Arab summit at present is pointless," said Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

As it finds itself on the defensive both at home and abroad, Damascus has increasingly leaned on its historical ally Russia, which recently joined China in vetoing a proposed United Nations Security Council resolution to punish Syria for alleged human rights violations against anti-government protesters.

Leaders of the opposition Syrian National Council met with Russian diplomats in Moscow Tuesday, in a bid to drive a wedge between the two allies. That initiative appeared to have failed, however.

Council Chairman Burhan Ghalioun later told journalists in Moscow the talks were "very positive," but added that the Russian government had not changed its position, according to the Interfax news agency.

Amid the rapidly escalating diplomatic war between Syria and its foreign opponents, the cycle of protests and violence inside Syria continued unabated.

At least four people were killed by security forces, including two children, said the opposition Local Coordination Committees. Meanwhile, Syria's state news agency reported that two law enforcement members were killed by "armed terrorists" in southern Syria on Monday. SANA also reported that train tracks were damaged by a series of bombs planted along a railroad in northern Syria on Monday.

Observers warn the protest movement in Syria, which struggled peacefully for months, is growing increasingly "weaponized" as more and more Syrian soldiers desert from the armed forces and join the opposition.

The latest military officer to announce his defection was a uniformed man who introduced himself in a YouTube video as a colonel and military attorney named Arafar Rasheed al-Hamoud.

"I announce my defection from the Syrian Arabic Army, after it was turned into a gang at the hand of the regime committing the most heinous crimes, killing women, children and elders and torturing unarmed citizens," Hamoud said, holding up his military identification card to the camera.

Several Syrian refugees told CNN they had met with Hamoud after he recently fled to one of a series of refugee camps on the Turkish side of the border with Syria.

Hamoud went on to announce he was joining the Free Syrian Army, a group of military defectors who have declared war on the Syrian regime.

On Monday, the opposition-aligned Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 81 people were killed in clashes around the country, with many of the casualties occurring due to clashes between army defectors and Syrian security forces around the restive border city of Deraa. CNN cannot independently confirm these reports because the Syrian government has repeatedly rejected requests for journalist visas.

Meanwhile, the European Union slapped sanctions against 18 more Syrians accused of "organizing violence against demonstrators."

Most of the individuals named in a November 14 EU regulation were officers in military intelligence, as well as the head of a "family militia" and three members of the so-called "Syrian electronic army." All are now subject to an asset freeze in Europe for alleged "violence against protesters in Syria."

The move was applauded by Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament.

"The EU sanctions targeting members of the Syrian Electronic Army show that the use of ICT (information and communications technology) as weapons is taken seriously," Schaake wrote in an e-mail to CNN. "The Syrian Electronic Army is operating not only within Syria, but acts globally. The EU can and should do much more to hold its own companies, who are providing ICT 'weapons' to the Syrian Electronic Army and their collaborators, accountable."

Arab foreign ministers are to meet to consider how to increase the pressure on Syria, a day after one of the bloodiest crackdowns on protesters.

Syria will be suspended from the Arab League on Wednesday and has said it will not attend the meeting in Morocco.

At least 3,500 protesters seeking the end of President Bashar al-Assad's rule have been killed since the government began its crackdown, the UN says.

Activists said that at least 70 people were killed on Tuesday alone.

The Arab League decided last week to suspend Syria, but the decision will only be formally adopted at the meeting in the Moroccan capital Rabat.

Syria has condemned the suspension as "shameful and malicious", accusing other Arab countries of conspiring with the West to undermine the regime.

The Syrian authorities request for an emergency summit to discuss its unrest, which it blames on armed gangs, was rejected by six Gulf states.

The six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - whose members led the drive to punish Syria for its crackdown - said Arab foreign ministers have been holding preparatory talks ahead of Wednesday's meeting.Continue reading the main storyAnalysis

Jon Leyne BBC Middle East correspondent, Rabat

Arab ministers are under huge pressure to push ahead with their tough line on Syria, after they decided at the weekend to suspend Syria from the Arab League.

The UN Secretary General has called for the Arab League to exercise leadership over Syria, the US called for a forceful message from the Arab ministers, and Turkey has threatened to cut off cross-border electricity supplies.

In an apparent attempt to stave off action, Syria released more than 1,000 political prisoners.

But there was another attack on a a diplomatic mission, Jordan's, after King Abdullah called on President Assad to step down.

Arab countries are under increasing pressure to continue their tough stance towards Syria, following its suspension from the group.

In an apparent show of goodwill ahead of the summit, the authorities freed 1,180 people who had been arrested during protests, Syrian state media reported.

The release of prisoners is among the demands of the Arab League.

On Tuesday, Turkey's prime minister became the latest international figure to speak out against the violence in Syria, following comments from King Abdullah of Jordan.

'Blood of the oppressed'

Turkey is not a member of the league, but its foreign minister is to meet his Arab League counterparts during the talks in Rabat.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syria's future could not be built on "the blood of the oppressed" and said Ankara had abandoned hope that Mr Assad would respond to international demands to stop using violence.

"Bashar al-Assad should see the tragic ends of the ones who declared war against their own people," Mr Erdogan told MPs of his AK Party. Mr Erdogan has become increasingly critical of Syria in recent months

History, he added, would "will mark these leaders as the leaders who feed on blood".

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz also announced that Ankara had shelved plans for Turkey's TPAO petroleum company to explore oil with Syria's state oil company and he also threatened to stop Turkey's electricity exports to Syria.

The White House said it welcomed the "strong stance Turkey has taken".

"Turkey's comments today further point to the fact that President Assad is isolated," President Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters.

The moves follow attacks on Turkish diplomatic missions in Damascus and the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Latakia by supporters of Mr Assad at the weekend.

The attackers expressed anger at Turkey's decision to support the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria.

Also on Tuesday, in what is being seen as a sign that Saudi Arabia's rulers now foresee an end to Mr Assad's rule, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Turki al-Faisal, said it was "inevitable" that Mr Assad would step down.

On Tuesday, activists said at least 70 people were killed in fighting that reportedly included a gun battle between security forces and army defectors in the restive southern province of Deraa.

November appears to be the bloodiest month of the eight-month revolt, with well over 300 people killed so far.

Syrian army defectors have attacked a major military base near Damascus, a Syrian opposition group says.

Parts of the Air Force Intelligence building in Harasta were destroyed in the overnight attack, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

The Free Syrian Army used rockets and machine-guns, it said, in its highest-profile attack since protests began.

It comes as the Arab League prepares to discuss its response to the crackdown on anti-government unrest in Syria.

The Syrian government has severely restricted access for foreign journalists, and reports of violence are extremely difficult to verify.

The UN says more than 3,500 people have died since protests started in March. The Syrian authorities blame the violence on armed gangs and militants.

An attack on the Harasta base would be significant because Syria's Air Force Intelligence is one of the most feared state agencies and has been involved in the suppression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Arab League will formally suspend Syria's membership at its meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, and will discuss other ways of increasing pressure on Mr Assad's regime.

Syria, which will not attend the meeting, has condemned the suspension as "shameful and malicious", accusing other Arab countries of conspiring with the West to undermine the regime.

The Free Syrian Army is very active and there is fear of a Civil War. Innocent victims killed so far is 4,200 and the population of £22 million is divided, with many still loyal to Assad. There is also fear that the trouble will spill over into the Lebonon and Itaq.

Reported blasts come after defector group says it attacked an air intelligence base

In a sign of growing international isolation, France withdraws its ambassador

Group: More deaths are reported in Syria on Wednesday

(CNN) -- Explosions and gunfire rocked the Syrian capital early Thursday, an opposition group said, a day after military defectors struck a government intelligence complex in a bold assault reflecting surging resolve.

No other details were immediately available on the explosions Thursday.

The reported blasts come as international leaders intensify their pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to end violence against protesters in the uprising the United Nations says has killed 3,500 people.

The defector group Free Syrian Army said it attacked an air intelligence base in Harasta and planted "powerful explosions inside and around the compound that shook its foundations."

Air intelligence has been deeply involved in the eight-month crackdown by the Syrian government against protesters, said Andrew Tabler, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Syria security complex attacked

Syria faces growing isolation

Attack against the Syrian regime

Bloody clashes escalate in Syria

The strike reflects the growing sophistication of the Free Syrian Army, according to Tabler.

"It opens up a new era of the conflict," he said, adding that the development represents "a bad direction" for the country. "Until now, most of the protests have been peaceful."

The defector group said it attacked several areas in Damascus to foil future government attacks against civilians.

Activists said the deserter army used rocket-propelled grenades to damage the intelligence complex in the eastern suburb of the capital, Damascus.

Opposition groups have urged the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone, as it did in the Libyan conflict, to help protect protesters.

Army leaders have said the measure would allow them to establish a base of operations to launch a campaign to bring down al-Assad's regime.

The Arab League, meeting in Rabat, Morocco, said al-Assad didn't stick by his pledge to withdraw armed forces from populated areas and allow journalists and monitors unfettered access.

A senior league official said the group gave Damascus three days to implement a protocol to allow observes to enter the nation and verify whether Syria has taken measures to protect civilians.

The league has also called on member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus, a decision that will be up to each nation.

In a sign of growing international isolation, France withdrew its ambassador Wednesday after attacks on its missions in the nation.

As the standoff rages on, at least 22 civilians were killed Wednesday, according to the Local Coordination Committee of Syria, a coalition of activists.

CNN is not able to independently verify claims of fighting and casualties because the Syrian government has restricted international media access to the country.

He was speaking a day after renegade soldiers were reported to have attacked a key government army base outside Damascus.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, at the UN in New York, says that with Russia and China having vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning government violence in Syria, European nations are looking for a new route to condemn the Syrian government.

They have turned to a key committee of the General Assembly where there are no vetoes.

The fact that Thursday's move was backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Morocco is significant, our correspondent says.

Western diplomats hope that a leading Arab role will eventually help overcome opposition in the Security Council, because requests from the region where the conflict is taking place strongly influence the positions of members, our correspondent says.

Germany, France and the UK circulated the draft resolution to the General Assembly's human rights committee and Western diplomats said they hope it will be put to a vote next Tuesday.

If approved, it is virtually certain to be adopted by the 193-member General Assembly.

On Wednesday the Arab League - which has suspended Syria - gave Damascus three days to end "bloody repression" and allow in teams of international monitors.

It has threatened Syria with sanctions if it does not co-operate.Rebel attack Unconfirmed reports said six government soldiers died when renegade soldiers known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) attacked the Air Force Intelligence building in Harasta early on Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov said such attacks were "completely similar to real civil war". The Free Syrian Army said it carried out the attack in Harasta

He said weapons were being smuggled in to Syria to be used by the opposition, and that it was "necessary to stop violence no matter where it comes from" - adding that opposition forces should also be held accountable.

China said on Thursday it was "highly concerned" by the rising violence.

The Arab League plan, drawn up earlier this month, calls on Syria to withdraw tanks from restive cities, cease its attacks on protesters and engage in dialogue with the opposition within two weeks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to the plan, but failed to honour it.

More than 370 people have been killed since then, say rights groups, in what appears to be the bloodiest month in the eight-month uprising.

The UN says more than 3,500 people have died since protests started in March. Syrian authorities blame the violence on armed gangs and militants.

The warning comes days after a group of army defectors called the Free Syrian Army attacked a building belonging to the country's air force intelligence, killing a number of troops.

Russia warned afterwards that the situation was "similar to a civil war".Spirit 'untouched' The Arab League formally suspended Syria on Wednesday.

The Syrian source told the BBC's Jeremy Bowen that the Syrian government had sent the message to the Arab League on Thursday.

The political source said Syrian acceptance was subject to some changes designed to protect what he called "the country's sovereignty and dignity".

Officials do not want it to be called an observer mission, but say calling it an Arab League mission would be acceptable, says our Middle East editor. Continue reading the main storyArab League proposals

The changes, the source said, do not affect the spirit of the mission.

He said "there are no tricks, we don't want to hinder them. The ball is now in the court of the Arab League".

The question now is whether the changes will be acceptable to the Arab League itself, our correspondent says.

If Syria is seen as playing for time or trying to dilute the mission it may get a negative response.Sanctions threat Germany, France and the UK have tabled a UN resolution calling for an end to human rights violations in Syria and urging Damascus to implement the Arab League plan. The draft was also backed by four Arab countries.

Russia and China, which hold a veto at the UN, have refused to condemn Syria.

But France, another veto holder, says sanctions against Syria must be strengthened.

Speaking after talks in Turkey, the French foreign minister said: "We have called on [President] Assad to change but the regime did not want to know, which is not acceptable."

His Turkish counterpart, Ahmed Davutoglu, said it was time to escalate the pressure to stop the "massacre

Violence is continuing in Syria, as deadline set by the Arab League approaches for the government to end its crackdown on protesters.

A Syrian diplomatic source said Damascus would accept observers to monitor implementation of a peace deal, but with conditions.

The Arab League formally suspended Syria on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary announced that he would meet Syrian opposition members.

William Hague will meet members of the Syrian National Council (SNC) and the National Co-ordination Committee for Democratic Change in London on Monday, his office said.'Smaller delegation' At least 11 people died in clashes on Friday, activists said, amid growing fears of civil war.

The League says Syria will face sanctions unless it stops its bloody suppression of anti-government protests.

A Syrian diplomatic source told the BBC on Friday that Damascus had informed the League of its offer to allow monitors in, and that a few details were being worked out.Continue reading the main storyArab League proposals

However, reports suggest Damascus has said it will accept a delegation of 40 observers - a much smaller number than the 500 initially proposed by the League.

The BBC's Jim Muir, in neighbouring Lebanon, says the opposition are extremely sceptical, believing that the government is just playing for time.

But the Syrian authorities also face a dilemma, our correspondent says: if they allow the situation to be stabilised with observers, and pull their troops out, they could see large parts of the country falling outside their control.

The Arab League plan, drawn up earlier this month, calls on Syria to withdraw tanks from restive cities, cease its attacks on protesters and engage in dialogue with the opposition within two weeks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to the plan at the time, but has so far failed to implement it.

Correspondents say the invitation for League officials to visit Syria is a significant concession by Damascus.

Syria is aware that Libya's suspension from the Arab League helped persuade the UN Security Council to authorise the military action which helped topple Col Muammar Gaddafi.'Restraint and caution' On Friday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for restraint over Syria, after a meeting with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

"We are calling for restraint and caution. This is our position," Mr Putin told a Moscow news conference, according to AFP news agency.